Particulate material supplying apparatus

ABSTRACT

A particulate material supplying apparatus includes a hopper that stores a particulate material, a discharge gutter that dispenses the particulate material, a feeder that transports the particulate material to a weighing scale, the weighing scale that weighs the particulate material, a supply shutter that feeds the particulate material to a machine in the next process step at a predetermined timing, and a controller that controls the operations of these devices. The discharge gutter includes an inclined gutter portion having an opening in an upper surface thereof and a substantially U-shaped cross section. The controller controls the discharge gutter so that the particulate material in the hopper is dispensed to the feeder by causing the discharge gutter to perform a swinging motion in which a forward rotation and a backward rotation each to a predetermined angle are repeated while the opening in the inclined gutter portion faces upward.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the technical field of automaticpackaging machines that automatically package a material (contents) in afilm bag (packaging material). In particular, the present inventionrelates to a particulate material supplying apparatus that is capable ofsupplying a specified amount of a particulate material composed ofirregularly shaped particles to an automatic packaging machine.

2. Description of the Related Art

Existing automatic packaging machines automatically package aparticulate material (contents) as follows: the material is temporarilystored in a hopper of the automatic packaging machine, the material isweighed and divided into portions having predetermined weights whilebags are being formed, the portions of the material are put into thebags through openings in the bags, the openings are sealed (heatsealed), and the bags are separated into individual packages.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 8-226845describes an existing particulate material supplying apparatus forweighing a particulate material composed of irregularly shapedparticles, such as seeds of plants and ingredients of processed foods,and for supplying the particulate material to an automatic packagingmachine. The particulate material supplying apparatus has the followingstructure. A material is discharged from a discharge portion of ahopper; the material is continuously dispensed through a dispensingpipe, which is inclined downward and rotated by rotation means in onedirection, into a receiving member; and the material is weighed by aweighing scale. When the weight of the material reaches a predeterminedvalue, opening/closing means opens a cover of the receiving member, andthe weighed material is discharged. The Publication states that, withsuch a structure, the weighed object (material) can be dispensedaccurately in predetermined amounts, and therefore it is possible toprevent an increase in cost and man-hours for disposal of erroneouslypackaged products, which may occur when the material is packaged inexcessively large or small amounts.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

However, such an existing particulate material supplying apparatus hasthe following problem. That is, because a particulate material composedof irregularly shaped particles is dispensed by means of rotation in onedirection and the downward inclination of the dispensing pipe, theapparatus cannot sufficiently loosen the particles of a particulatematerial that tend to cluster together or become entangled. Therefore,the particulate material is dispensed in a state in which its particlesare clustered or entangled, so that the dispensed amount varies.

The present invention provides a particulate material supplyingapparatus that is capable of supplying a particulate material whoseparticles tend to cluster together or become entangled, which isdifficult to dispense by using existing particulate material supplyingapparatuses, to an automatic packaging machine in a predeterminedamount.

(1) According to a first aspect of the present invention, a particulatematerial supplying apparatus includes a hopper that stores a particulatematerial; a discharge gutter that extends diagonally downward from alower region inside the hopper and dispenses the particulate material inthe hopper; a feeder that transports the dispensed particulate materialto a weighing scale; the weighing scale that receives and weighs thetransported particulate material; a supply shutter that receives theweighed particulate material and feeds the particulate material to amachine in the next process step at a predetermined timing; and acontroller that controls a dispensing operation of the discharge gutter,a transporting operation of the feeder, a weighing operation of theweighing scale, and a feeding operation of the supply shutter. Thedischarge gutter includes an inclined gutter portion having an openingin an upper surface thereof and having a substantially U-shaped crosssection. The controller controls the discharge gutter so that theparticulate material in the hopper is dispensed to the feeder by causingthe discharge gutter to perform a swinging motion in which a forwardrotation and a backward rotation each to a predetermined angle arerepeated while the opening in the inclined gutter portion faces upward.

With the particulate material supplying apparatus described in (1), theparticles of a particulate material that tend to cluster together orbecome entangled are sufficiently loosened, because the inclined gutterportion of the discharge gutter, haying an opening in an upper surfacethereof and having a substantially U-shaped cross section, performs aswinging motion in which a forward rotation and a backward rotation eachto a predetermined angle are repeated. That is, when the dischargegutter swings by switching its rotation direction, a horizontal stirringforce at an angle of 90 degrees with respect to the transport directionis applied to the material, and therefore the particles of a particulatematerial that tend to cluster together or become entangled are separatedfrom each other and sufficiently loosened.

(2) According to a second aspect of the present invention, a particulatematerial supplying apparatus includes a hopper that stores a particulatematerial; a plurality of discharge gutters that extend diagonallydownward from a lower region inside the hopper and dispense theparticulate material in the hopper; a plurality of feeders thattransport the dispensed particulate material to a plurality of weighingscales; the plurality of weighing scales that receive and weigh thetransported particulate material; a plurality of supply shutters thatreceive the weighed particulate material and feed the particulatematerial to a collective utter; a collective shutter that receives theparticulate material fed from the supply shutters and collectively feedsthe particulate material to a machine in the next process step at apredetermined timing; and a controller that controls dispensingoperations of the discharge gutters, transporting operations of thefeeders, weighing operations of the weighing scales, feeding operationsof the supply shutters, and a collective feeding operation of thecollective shutter. The discharge gutters each include an inclinedgutter portion having an opening in an upper surface thereof and havinga substantially U-shaped cross section. The controller controls thedischarge gutter so that the particulate material in the hopper isdispensed to the feeders by causing each of the discharge gutters toperform a swinging motion in which a forward rotation and a backwardrotation each to a predetermined angle are repeated while the openingsin the inclined gutter portions face upward. The controller controls theweighing scales so that the weighing scales receive the particulatematerial transported by the feeders and perform the weighing operationsuntil a weight of the transported particulate material reaches areference value determined for each of the weighing scales. Thecontroller controls the supply shutters so that the supply shutters feedthe particulate material to the collective shutter at release timingsdetermined for the supply shutters. The controller controls thecollective shutter so that the collective shutter collectively feeds theparticulate material to the machine in the next process step at apredetermined feed timing after a total weight of the particulatematerial fed from the supply shutters has reached a predetermined weightof material to be packed into a package bag.

With the particulate material supplying apparatus described in (2), thefollowing effect can be obtained in addition to that of the apparatusdescribed in (1) because the apparatus includes the discharge gutters,the feeders, the weighing scales, and the supply shutters, which areparallelly arranged in rows and are operated simultaneously, and theweighed particulate material fed from the plurality of rows arecollectively fed to a machine in the next process step, the timerequired for supplying the material can be reduced in accordance withthe number of rows.

(3) The particulate material supplying apparatus may further include adischarge member that is disposed in the hopper and connected to thedischarge gutter and that first dispenses the particulate material. Thedischarge member is provided with a stirring bar that stirs theparticulate material in the hopper as the discharge gutter performs theswinging motion.

Because the stirring bar of the discharge member of the particulatematerial supplying apparatus described in (3) stirs the particulatematerial in the hopper as the discharge gutter performs the swingingmotion, a larger amount of particulate material can be smoothlydispensed from the hopper to the discharge gutter.

(4) The particulate material supplying apparatus may further include amaterial regulation bar that extends into the inclined gutter portion ofthe discharge gutter through the opening, the material regulation barbeing supported by a base of the particulate material supplyingapparatus in such a way that a vertical position thereof is adjustable.The material regulation bar levels off the particulate material in thedischarge gutter and stirs the particulate material.

The material regulation bar of the discharge gutter particulate materialsupplying apparatus described in (4) levels off the particulate materialin the discharge gutter and stirs the particulate material. Therefore,the particles of particulate material that tend to cluster together orbecome entangled can be more efficiently loosened.

(5) In the particulate material supplying apparatus, the feeder mayinclude a trough that receives the dispensed. particulate material fromthe discharge gutter and transports the particulate material and avibrator that vibrates the trough to provide means for transporting theparticulate material. The trough includes at least one stepped portionthat accelerates the particulate material that is being transportedalong the trough.

The stepped portion of the trough of the feeder described in (5)accelerates the particulate material that is being transported along thetrough. Therefore, gaps formed between particles of the particulatematerial when the particles were loosened can be substantiallyeliminated.

(6) According to a third aspect of the present invention, a particulatematerial supplying apparatus includes a hopper that stores a particulatematerial; a discharge gutter that extends diagonally downward from alower region inside the hopper and dispenses the particulate material inthe hopper; a weighing scale that receives and weighs the dispensedparticulate material; a supply shutter that receives the weighedparticulate material and feeds the particulate material to a machine inthe next process step at a predetermined timing; and a controller thatcontrols dispensing operation of the discharge gutter, a weighingoperation of the weighing scale, and a feeding operation of the supplyshutter. The discharge gutter includes an inclined gutter portion havingan opening in an upper surface thereof and having a substantiallyU-shaped cross section. The controller controls the discharge gutter sothat the particulate material in the hopper is dispensed to the weighingscale by causing the discharge gutter to perform a swinging motion inwhich a forward rotation and a backward rotation each to a predeterminedangle are repeated while the opening in the inclined gutter portionfaces upward.

With the particulate material supplying apparatus described in (6), theparticles of a particulate material. that tend to cluster together orbecome entangled are sufficiently loosened, because the inclined gutterportion of the discharge gutter, having an opening in an upper surfacethereof and having a substantially U-shaped cross section, performs aswinging motion in which a forward rotation and a backward rotation eachto a predetermined angle are repeated. Moreover, because the feeder isomitted, the particulate material supplying apparatus can be reduced insize and cost.

As described above, the particulate material supplying apparatusaccording to the present invention has the following advantages.

(1) The particulate material supplying apparatus can supply an accurateamount of particulate material whose particles tend to cluster togetheror become entangled, which is difficult to dispense using existingtechnologies, to an automatic packaging machine by sufficientlyloosening the particles of the particulate material.

(2) Because of a simple structure, the particulate material supplyingapparatus can be manufactured at low cost. Moreover, in the case wherethe particulate material supplying apparatus includes plural supplymechanisms that are parallelly arranged, the particulate material can besupplied at high speed. Therefore, the particulate material supplyingapparatus can be connected to a latest-type automatic packaging machinethat operates at a high speed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a. front view of a single-row particulate. material supplyingapparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a left side view of the single-row particulate materialsupplying apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a front view of a multi-row particulate material supplyingapparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a left side view of the multi-row particulate materialsupplying apparatus;

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view of a discharge gutter of aparticulate material supplying apparatus according to an embodiment ofthe present invention in a home position (initial state);

FIG. 6 is a schematic sectional view of the discharge gutter of theparticulate material supplying apparatus in a rightward (forward)rotated position;

FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view of the discharge gutter of theparticulate material supplying apparatus in a leftward (backward)rotated position;

FIG. 8 is a schematic front view illustrating a discharge member,provided with a stirring bar, of the discharge gutter of the particulatematerial supplying apparatus according to an embodiment of the presentinvention in a home position (initial state);

FIG. 9 is a schematic front view illustrating the discharge member,provided with the stirring bar, of the discharge gutter in a rightward(forward) rotated position;

FIG. 10 is a schematic side view of a particulate material supplyingapparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, furtherincluding a material regulation bar disposed in the discharge gutter;

FIG. 11 is en enlarged view illustrating a. discharge member and adischarge gutter of the particulate material supplying apparatusaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 12 illustrates examples of the cross-sectional shape of a dischargemember according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 13 illustrates examples of the outer shape of a discharge memberaccording to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a front view of a single-row particulate material supplyingapparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a left side view of the single-row particulate materialsupplying apparatus according to the other embodiment;

FIG. 16 is a front view of a multi-row particulate material supplyingapparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 17 is a left side view of the multi-row particulate materialsupplying apparatus according to the other embodiment;

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of a feeder of a particulate materialsupplying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;and

FIGS. 19A to 19D illustrate an operation of the feeder.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, embodiments of a particulate material supplying apparatusaccording to the present invention will be described with reference tothe drawings. First, the structure of a single-row particulate materialsupplying apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the presentinvention will be described. FIG. 1 is a from view of the single-rowparticulate material supplying apparatus 1. FIG. 2 is a left side viewof the single-row particulate material supplying apparatus 1. Referringto FIGS. 1 and 2, the single-row particulate material supplyingapparatus 1 includes a hopper 10, an inclination adjustment base 11, adischarge member 13, and a discharge gutter 14. The hopper 10 stores aparticulate material composed of irregularly shaped particles. Theinclination adjustment base 11 supports the hopper 10 in such a way thatthe inclination of the hopper 10 is adjustable. The discharge member 13(not illustrated in FIG. 1, see FIG. 2), which is disposed in a lowerregion inside the hopper 10, first dispenses the particulate material inthe hopper 10. The discharge gutter 14 moves together with the dischargemember 13 and transports the particulate material while dispensing theparticulate material in the hopper 10.

The discharge gutter 14 includes an inclined gutter portion having asubstantially U-shaped cross section and having an opening in an uppersurface thereof. The discharge gutter 14 is connected to the dischargemember 13 through a connection member 12. A gutter-side transmissiongear 15 is fitted onto the discharge gutter 14. A motor-sidetransmission gear 16 is attached to a driving motor 17, which rotatesthe discharge gutter 14 to a predetermined angle. The transmission gears15 and 16 mesh with each other.

A feeder 18 is disposed directly below an outlet of the inclined gutterportion the discharge gutter 14. The feeder 18 transports theparticulate material, which has been received from the discharge gutter14, rightward in FIG. 2 by means of vibration while diffusing theparticulate material. A supply shutter 19 is disposed directly below anoutlet of the feeder 19. The supply shutter 19 is connected to aweighing scale 20 so that the weighing scale 20 can weigh theparticulate material which has fallen into the supply shutter 19. Themembers described above are mounted on a base 23. A controller 21 and anoperation panel 22 are disposed under the base 23. The controller 21performs various control operations of the particulate materialsupplying apparatus 1. The operation panel 22 is used to perform variousinput/output operations on the controller 21.

An operation of the single-row particulate material supplying apparatus1, which is illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, will be described.

(1) A particulate material composed of irregularly shaped particles (notshown) is stored in the hopper 10. The particulate material in thehopper 10 is compressed in a lower region inside the hopper 10 due togravity.

(2). The motion of the discharge gutter 14 will be described. Thegutter-side transmission gear 15 (described above) is fitted onto a baseportion of the discharge gutter 14. The motor-side transmission gear 16meshes with the gutter-side transmission gear 15, so that the rotationalforce of the driving motor 17 is transmitted to the discharge gutter 14.When the driving motor 17 rotates the motor-side transmission gear 16leftward (counterclockwise) in FIG. 1, the gutter-side transmission gear15 rotates the discharge gutter 14 rightward (clockwise) (hereinafterreferred to as “forward”). When the driving motor 17 rotates themotor-side transmission gear 15 rightward, the gutter-side transmissiongear 15 rotates the discharge gutter 14 leftward (hereinafter referredto as “backward”). Under the control of the controller 21, the drivingmotor 17 rotates leftward to a predetermined angle, then rotatesrightward to a predetermined angle, and repeats the leftward. andrightward rotations. Likewise, the discharge gutter 14, which isconnected to the driving motor 17 through gears, rotates forward to apredetermined angle, then rotates backward to a predetermined angle, andrepeats the forward and backward rotations. Thus, the discharge gutter14 performs a swinging motion. As a result, when the discharge gutter 14swings by switching its rotation direction, a horizontal stirring forceat an angle of 90 degrees with respect to the transport direction isapplied to the material, and therefore the particles of a particulatematerial that tend to cluster together or become entangled are separatedfrom each other and sufficiently loosened.

(3) Because the inclined gutter portion of the discharge gutter 14 hasan opening in the upper surface and has a substantially U-shaped crosssection, the rightward (forward) and leftward (backward) rotation anglesof the discharge gutter 14 are set in a range such that the particulatematerial does not fall out from the opening. In addition to the rotationangle of the discharge gutter 14, the rotational speeds of the dischargegutter 14 in the forward and backward directions and the inclinationangle of the discharge gutter 14, which is adjusted using theinclination adjustment base 11, are factors that determine the looseningeffect due to the swinging motion. That is, the larger the rotationangle of the discharge gutter 14 and higher the rotational speed of thedischarge gutter 14, the more the particles of the particulate materialare loosened. The smaller the inclination angle of the discharge gutter14, the more the particles of the particulate material are loosened,because the number of swings increases although the transportationamount of the particulate material decreases.

(4) As the discharge gutter 14 moves, the discharge member 13, which isconnected to the discharge gutter 14 through the connection member 12,performs a swinging motion (forward and backward rotations) in thehopper 10. Thus, the particulate material in the hopper 10 is dispensedto the discharge gutter 14. As the discharge gutter 14 performs aswinging motion in forward and backward directions as described above in(2) and (3), the particles of the particulate material dispensed to thedischarge gutter 14 are sufficiently loosened. After the particles havebeen separated from each other, the particulate material is supplied tothe feeder 18.

(5) The feeder 18 further diffuses the particulate, material receivedfrom the discharge gutter 14 and causes the particulate material togradually fall into the supply shutter 19 by means of vibration.

(6) The supply shutter 19 is connected to the weighing scale 20. Whenthe weight of the particulate material becomes a predetermined value,the outlet of the supply shutter 19 is opened (not shown), and anaccurately weighed amount of particulate material is supplied to amachine in the next process step.

(7) The controller 21 of the particulate material supplying apparatuscontrols the overall operations of the apparatus 1, including thedispensing operation of the discharge gutter 14, the transport operationof the feeder 18, the weighing operation of the weighing scale 20, andthe feeding operation of the supply shutter 19. Various settings,instructions, and display items are input to and output from thecontroller 21 through the operation panel 22.

Next, the structure of a multi-row particulate material supplyingapparatus 3 according to an embodiment of the present invention will bedescribed. FIG. 3 is a front view of the multi-row particulate materialsupplying apparatus 3. FIG. 4 is a left side view of the multi-rowparticulate material supplying apparatus 3.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the multi-row particulate material supplyingapparatus 3 includes a hopper 30, an inclination adjustment base 31,discharge members 33, and discharge gutters 34. The hopper 30 stores aparticulate material composed of irregularly shaped particles. Theinclination adjustment base 31 supports the hopper 30 in such a way thatthe inclination of the hopper 30 is adjustable. The discharge members33, which are disposed in lower regions inside the hopper 30, firstdispense the particulate material in the hopper 30. The dischargegutters 34 move together with the discharge members 33 and transport theparticulate material while dispensing the particulate material in thehopper 30.

The discharge gutters 34 include inclined gutter portions each having asubstantially U-shaped cross section and having an opening in an uppersurface thereof. Base portions of the discharge gutters 34 are connectedto the discharge members 33 through connection members 32. Gutter-sidetransmission gears 35 are fitted onto the discharge gutters 34.Motor-side transmission gears 36 are attached. to driving motors 37 thatrotate the discharge gutters 34. The transmission gears 35 and 36 meshwith each other.

Feeders 38 are disposed directly below outlets of inclined gutterportions of the discharge gutters 34. The feeders 38 transport theparticulate material, which has been received from the discharge gutters34, by means of vibration while diffusing the particulate material.

Supply shutters 39 are disposed directly below outlets of the feeders38. The supply shutters 39 are connected to weighing scales 40 so theweighing scales 40 can weigh the particulate material which has falleninto the supply shutters 39.

A collective shutter 44 is disposed directly below outlets of the supplyshutters 39. The collective shutter 44 receives the particulate materialfrom each of the supply shutters 39 and collectively feeds theparticulate material to the next process step at a predetermined timing.

The members described above are mounted on a base 43. A controller 41and an operation panel 42 are disposed under the base 43. The controller41 performs various control operations of the particulate materialsupplying apparatus 3. The operation panel 42 is used to perform variousinput/output operations on the controller 41.

An operation of the multi-row particulate material supplying apparatus3, which is illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4, will be described.

(1) A particulate material composed of irregularly shaped particles isstored in the hopper 30. The particulate material in the hopper 30 iscompressed in a lower region inside the hopper 30 due to gravity.

(2) The motion of the discharge gutters 34 will be described. Thegutter-side transmission gears 35 are fitted onto the discharge gutters34. The motor-side transmission gears 36 mesh with the gutter-sidetransmission gears 35, so that the rotational forces of the drivingmotors 37 are transmitted to the discharge gutters 34. When the drivingmotors 37 rotate leftward in FIG. 3, the discharge gutters 34 rotaterightward (hereinafter referred to as “forward”). When the drivingmotors 37 rotate rightward, the discharge gutters 34 rotate leftward(hereinafter referred to as “backward”). Under the control of thecontroller 41, the driving motors 37 rotate leftward to a predeterminedangle, then rotate rightward to a predetermined angle, and repeat theleftward and rightward rotations. Likewise, the discharge gutters 34,which are connected to the driving motors 37 through gears, rotateforward to a predetermined angle, then rotate backward to apredetermined angle, and repeat the forward and backward rotations.Thus, the discharge gutters 24 each perform a swinging motion. As aresult, when the discharge gutters 34 swing by switching the rotationdirection, a horizontal stirring force at an angle of 90 degrees withrespect to the transport direction is applied to the material, andtherefore the particles of a particulate material that tend to clustertogether or become entangled are separated from each other andsufficiently loosened.

(3) Because the inclined gutter portions of the discharge gutters 34each have an opening in the upper surface and has a substantiallyU-shaped cross section, the rightward (forward) and leftward (backward)rotation angles of the discharge gutters 34 are set in a range such thatthe particulate material does not fall out from the openings. Inaddition to the rotation angles of the discharge gutters 34, therotational speeds of the discharge gutters 34 in the forward andbackward directions and the inclination angles of the discharge gutters34, which are adjusted using the inclination adjustment base 31, arefactors that determine the loosening effect to the swinging motion. Thatis, the larger the rotation angles of the discharge gutters 34 andhigher the rotational speeds of the discharge gutters 34, the more theparticles of the particulate material are loosened. The smaller theinclination angles of the discharge gutters 34, the more the particlesof the particulate material are loosened, because the number of swingsincreases although the transportation amount of the particulate materialdecreases.

(4) As the discharge gutters 34 move, the discharge members 33, whichare connected to the discharge gutters 34 through the connection members32, each perform a swinging motion in the hopper 30. Thus, theparticulate material in the hopper 30 is dispensed to the dischargegutters 34. As the discharge gutters 34 each perform a swinging motionas described above in (2) and (3), the particles of the particulatematerial dispensed to the discharge gutters 34 are sufficientlyloosened. After the particles have been separated from each other, theparticulate material is supplied to the feeders 38.

(5) The feeders 38 further diffuse the particulate material receivedfrom the discharge gutters 34 and cause the particulate material togradually fall into the supply shutters 39 by means of vibration.

(6) The supply shutters 39 are connected to the weighing scales 40. Theweighing scales 40 continue weighing the particulate material until theweights of the particulate material reach predetermined referencevalues. After the weights of the particulate material have reached thereference values, at release, timings determined for the supply shutters39, the outlets of the supply shutters 39 are opened and the weighedparticulate material is supplied to the collective shutter 44.

(7) At a predetermined feed timing after the total. weight of theparticulate material supplied to the collective shutter 44 from thesupply shutters 39 has reached a predetermined weight to be fed into apackaging baa, the collective shutter 44 collectively feeds theparticulate material, which has been accurately weighed, to a machine inthe next process step.

(8) The controller 41 of the particulate material supplying apparatus 3controls the overall operations of the apparatus 3, including thedispensing operations of the discharge gutters 34, the transportoperations of the feeders 38, the weighing operations of the weighingscales 40, the feeding operations of the supply shutters 39, and thecollective feeding operation of the collective shutter 44. Varioussettings, instructions, and display items are input to and output fromthe controller 41 through the operation panel 47.

(9) The multi-row particulate material supplying apparatus 3 illustratedin FIGS. 3 and 4 feeds the particulate material in the amount that isthe sum of the particulate material discharged from the plural dischargegutters 34, so that the time required for the amount of the particulatematerial to reach a predetermined amount needed in the next process stepis considerably reduced.

That is, the multi-row particulate material supplying apparatus 3 cansupply the particulate material in the amount needed in the next processstep within a time that is a fraction of that of the single-rowparticulate material. supplying apparatus 1. Therefore, the multi-rowparticulate material supplying apparatus 3 can be connected to alatest-type automatic packaging machine that operates at a high. speed.

Here, a loosening function of the discharge gutter 34 will be describedin details.

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view of the discharge gutter 14 or 34 ofthe particulate material supplying apparatus 1 or 3 according to anembodiment of the present invention in a home position (initial state).FIG. 6 is a schematic sectional view of the discharge gutter 14 or 34 ofthe particulate material supplying apparatus 1 or 3 in a rightward(forward) rotated position. FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view of thedischarge gutter 14 or 34 of the particulate material supplyingapparatus 1 or 3 in a leftward (backward) rotated position.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, a particulate material 50 has been dispensedin the discharge gutter 14 or 34 in the home position (initial state)before performing a swinging motion. At this time, the particles of theparticulate material, which have just been dispensed, are partiallyclustered or entangled.

Next, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the discharge gutter 14 or 34 is rotatedrightward (forward) to a predetermined angle by the driving motor 17 or37, which is connected to the discharge gutter 14 or 34 through gears.At this time, a horizontal stirring force at an angle of 90 degrees withrespect to the transport direction of the discharge gutter 14 or 34 isapplied to the particulate material 50 in the discharge gutter 14 or 34.

Next, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the discharge gutter 14 or 34 is rotatedleftward (backward) to a predetermined angle by the driving motor 17 or37, which is connected to the discharge gutter 14 or 34 through gears.At this time, a horizontal stirring force at an angle of 90 degrees withrespect to the transport direction of the discharge gutter 14 or 34 isapplied to the particulate material 50 in the discharge gutter 14 or 34.

As the forward and backward rotations are repeated, the discharge gutter14 or 34 performs a swinging motion. Every time the discharge gutter 14or 34 changes the rotation direction during the swinging motion, ahorizontal stirring force at an angle of 90 degrees with respect to thetransport direction is applied to the transported particulate material50. As a result, the particles of the particulate material 50, whichtend to cluster together or become entangled, are separated from eachother and sufficiently loosened.

Examples of the particulate material 50 include seaweed flakes, tealeaves, ingredients of processed foods (dried meat, dried vegetable),toppings for boiled rice, and seeds of plants, particulate snack foods,drugs, and screws. In accordance with the characteristics of suchparticulate materials, the controller 21 or 41 of the particulatematerial supplying apparatuses 1 or 3 controls the swinging motion ofthe discharge gutter 14 or 34 by appropriately and freely changing therotation angle and the rotational speed. of the discharge gutter 14 or34.

The swinging motion may be controlled by changing the rotation angle andthe rotational speed during the swinging motion, instead of setting therotation angle and the rotational speed at constant values. In the casewhere the rotation angle and the rotational speed are changed during theswinging motion, a stirring force applied to the particulate materialvaries, so that the particles of the particulate material can beloosened in a more complex way.

FIG. 8 is a schematic front view illustrating the discharge member 13 or33, provided with a stirring bar 60, of the discharge gutter 14 or 34 ofthe particulate material supplying apparatus 1 or 3 in the home position(initial state).

FIG. 9 is a schematic front view illustrating the discharge member 13 or33, provided with the stirring bar 60, of the discharge gutter 14 or 34of the particulate material supplying apparatus 1 or 3 in a rightward(forward) rotated position.

FIG. 8 illustrates the discharge gutter 14 or 34 in the home position(initial state) before performing a swinging motion. The dischargemember 13 or 33, which is disposed in a lower region inside the hopper10 or 30, is attached to the discharge gutter 14 or 34. The dischargemember 13 or 33 performs a swinging motion in the hopper 10 or 30 so asto dispense the particulate material in the hopper 10 or 30 to thedischarge gutter 14 or 34. In the example illustrated in FIG. 8, thedischarge member 13 or 33 is provided with the stirring bar 60 thatstirs the particulate material in corporation with the swinging motionof the hopper 10 or 30.

As illustrated in FIG. 9, when the discharge member 13 or 33, which isdisposed in the hopper 10 or 30, rotates rightward (forward) due to theswinging motion, the stirring bar 50, which is attached to the hopper 10or 30, also rotates rightward (forward) to a predetermined angle. As aresult, the stirring bar 60 actively stirs the particulate material inthe hopper 10 or 30, so that a larger amount of particulate material isdispensed from the hopper 10 or 30 to the discharge gutter 14 or 34.

FIG. 10 is a schematic side view of the particulate material supplyingapparatus 1 or 3, further including a material regulation bar 70disposed in the discharge gutter 14 or 34. As illustrated in FIG. 10, inthe discharge gutter 14 or 34, the particulate material 50, dispensedfrom the hopper 10 or 30, is transported from the left side to the rightside in FIG. 10. The particulate material 50 is transported due to theinclination of the discharge gutter 14 or 34 (as illustrated in FIG. 10)and the swinging motion of the discharge gutter 14 or 34.

In a case where the particles of the particulate material 50 have aproperty of easily clustering together or becoming entangled, theparticles of the particulate material 50 might not be sufficientlyloosened only by the swinging motion of the discharge gutter 14 or 34.Therefore, as illustrated in FIG. 10, the material regulation bar 70,which is supported by the base of the particulate material supplyingapparatus 1 or 3, is inserted through the opening in the upper surfaceof the inclined gutter portion of the discharge gutter 14 or 34. Thematerial regulation bar 70 levels off the particulate material 50 in thedischarge gutter 14 or 34 and stirs the particulate material 50.

As the material regulation bar 70 levels off the particulate material 50moving along the discharge gutter 14 or 34, the particulate material 50becomes a particulate material 51, which has a uniform height.Accordingly, the particles of the particulate material having a propertyof more easily clustering together or becoming entangled can be loosenedmore efficiently, and the variation in the amount of the particulatematerial supplied to the discharge gutter and beyond can be reduced. Abase portion of the material regulation bar 70 is attached to a verticaladjuster 71 so that the height of the material regulation bar 70 can beadjusted. With the vertical adjuster 71, the degree to which theparticles of the particulate material are loosened and the height of theparticulate material 51, which has been leveled off, can be adjusted.

The embodiments are examples for carrying out the present invention.Although there are correspondences between the members of theembodiments and the elements in the claims, the invention is not limitedto the embodiments and can be modified in various ways within the spiritand scope of the invention.

Here, modifications of the discharge member of the particulate materialsupplying apparatus according to the embodiments of the presentinvention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 11 isan enlarged view illustrating the discharge member 13 or 33 and thedischarge gutter 14 or 34 of the particulate material supplyingapparatus 1 or 3. FIG. 12 illustrates examples (1) to (4) of thecross-sectional shape of the discharge member 13 or 33. FIG. 13illustrates examples (1) to (9) of the shape of the discharge member 13or 33. FIG. 11 illustrates the hopper 10 or 30, in which a particulatematerial composed of irregularly shaped particles is stored; thedischarge member 33, which is disposed in a over region inside thehopper 10 or 30 and which first dispenses the particulate material inthe hopper 10 or 30; and the discharge gutter 14 or 34, which movestogether with the discharge member 13 or 33 and transports theparticulate material while dispensing the particulate material in thehopper 10 or 30.

The discharge gutter 14 or 34 includes an inclined gutter portion havingan opening in the upper surface thereof and having a substantiallyU-shaped cross section. The discharge gutter 14 or 34 is connected tothe discharge member 13 or 33 through the connection member 12 or 32. InFIG. 11, a sectional view of the discharge member 13 or 33 taken alongline A-A is illustrated on the left side of the discharge gutter 14 or34, and a sectional view of the discharge member 13 or 33 taken alongline B-B is illustrated on the right side of the discharge gutter 14 or34.

FIG. 12 illustrates examples (1) to (4) of the cross-sectional shape ofthe discharge member 13 or 33. FIG. 13 illustrates examples (1) to (9)of the cuter shape of the discharge member 13 or 33.

As illustrated in FIGS. 12 and 13, the shape of the discharge member 13or 33 may be modified in various ways in accordance with the property ofthe particulate material. To be specific, in a case where the particlesof the particulate material in the hopper have a property of easilyclustering together, a discharging member having a protrusion forbreaking clusters of the particles is selected. Examples of suchdischarge members are (2), (3), and (4) in FIG. 12; and (2), (3), (5),(6), (8), and (9) in FIG. 13.

In a case where the particles of the particulate material in the hopperhave a property of easily becoming entangled, a discharge member havinga simple shape with which entanglement with the particles can be avoidedis selected. Examples of such discharge members are (1) FIGS. 12; and(1), (4), and (7) in FIG. 13.

Next, particulate material supplying apparatuses according to otherembodiments of the present invention will be described with reference tothe drawings. FIG. 14 is a front view of a single-row particulatematerial supplying apparatus 4 according to another embodiment of thepresent invention. FIG. 15 is a left side view of the single-rowparticulate material supplying apparatus 4. FIG. 16 is a front view of amulti-row particulate material supplying apparatus 5 according toanother embodiment of the present. invention. FIG. 17 is a left sideview of the multi-row particulate material supplying apparatus 5.

As illustrated in FIGS. 14 and 15, the single-row particulate materialsupplying apparatus. 4 does not include the feeder 18, which is includedin the single-row particulate material supplying apparatus 1 illustratedin FIGS. 1 and 2. Other components of the apparatus 4 are the same asthose of the apparatus 1 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. The single-rowparticulate material supplying apparatus 4 includes a hopper 10, aninclination adjustment base 11, a discharge member 13, and a dischargegutter 14. The hopper 10 stores a particulate material composed ofirregularly shaped particles. The inclination adjustment base 11supports the hopper 10 in such a way that the inclination of the hopper10 is adjustable. The discharge member 13 (not illustrated in FIG. 14,see FIG. 15), which is disposed in a lower region inside the hopper 10,first dispenses the particulate material in the hopper 10. The dischargegutter 14 moves together with the discharge member 13 and transports theparticulate material while dispensing the particulate material in thehopper 10.

The discharge gutter 14 includes an inclined gutter portion having asubstantially U-shaped Cross section and having an opening in an uppersurface thereof. The discharge gutter 14 is connected to the dischargemember 13 through a connection member 12. A gutter-side transmissiongear 15 is fitted onto the discharge gutter 14. A motor-sidetransmission gear 16 is attached to a driving motor 17 that rotates thedischarge gutter 14 to a predetermined angle. The transmission gears 15and 16 mesh with each other.

A supply shutter 19 is disposed directly below an outlet of the inclinedgutter portion of the discharge gutter 14. The supply shutter 19 isconnected to the weighing scale 20 so that the weighing scale 20 canweigh the particulate material which has fallen into the supply shutter19. The members described above are mounted on a base 23. A controller21 and an operation panel 22 are disposed under the base 23. Thecontroller 21 performs various control operations of the particulatematerial supplying apparatus 4. The operation panel 22 is used toperform various input/output operations on the controller 21.

An operation of the single-row particulate material supplying apparatus4, which is illustrated in FIGS. 14 and 15, will be described. Exceptfor the motion of the feeder 13, the members of the single-rowparticulate material supplying apparatus 4 move in the same way those ofthe apparatus 1 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2.

(1) A particulate material composed of irregularly shaped particles (notshown) is stored in the hopper 10. The particulate material in thehopper 10 is compressed in a lower region inside the hopper 10 due togravity.

(2) The motion of the discharge gutter 14 will be described. Thegutter-side transmission gear 15 (described above) is fitted into a baseportion of the discharge gutter 14. The motor-side transmission gear 15meshes with the gutter-side transmission gear 15, so that therotational. force of the driving motor 17 is transmitted to thedischarge gutter 14. When the driving motor 17 rotates the motor-sidetransmission gear 16 leftward (counterclockwise) in FIG. 1, thegutter-side transmission gear 15 rotates the discharge gutter 14rightward (clockwise) (hereinafter referred to as “forward”). When thedriving motor 17 rotates the motor-side transmission gear 16 rightward,the gutter-side transmission gear 15 rotates the discharge gutter 14leftward (hereinafter referred to as “backward”). Under the control ofthe controller 21, the driving motor 17 rotates leftward to apredetermined angle, then rotates rightward to a predetermined angle,and repeats the forward and backward rotations. Likewise, the dischargegutter 14, which is connected to the driving motor 17 through gears,rotates forward to a predetermined angle, then rotates backward to apredetermined angle, and repeats the forward and backward rotations.Thus, the discharge gutter 14 performs a swinging motion. As a result,when the discharge gutter 14 swings by switching its rotation direction,a horizontal stirring force at an angle of 90 degrees with respect tothe transport direction is applied to the material, and therefore theparticles of a particulate material that tend to cluster together orbecome entangled are separated from each other and sufficientlyloosened.

(3) Because the inclined gutter portion of the discharge gutter 14 hasan opening in the upper surface and has a substantially U-shaped crosssection, the rightward (forward) and leftward (backward) rotation anglesof the discharge gutter 14 are set in a range such that the particulatematerial does not fall out from the opening. In addition to the rotationangle of the discharge gutter 14, the rotational speeds of the dischargegutter 14 in the forward and backward directions and the inclinationangle of the discharge gutter 14, which is adjusted using theinclination adjustment base 11, are factors that determine the looseningeffect to the swinging motion. That is, the larger the rotation angle ofthe discharge gutter 14 and higher the rotational speed of the dischargegutter 14, the more the particles of the particulate material areloosened. The smaller the inclination angle of the discharge gutter 14,the more the particles of the particulate material are loosened, becausethe number of swings increases although the transportation amount of theparticulate material decreases.

(4) As the discharge gutter 14 moves, the discharge member 13, which isconnected to the discharge gutter 14 through the connection member 12,performs a swinging motion (forward and backward rotations) in thehopper 10. Thus, the particulate material in the hopper 10 is dispensedto the discharge gutter 14. As the discharge gutter 14 performs aswinging motion in forward and backward directions as described above in(2) and (3), the particles of the particulate material dispensed to thedischarge gutter 14 are sufficiently loosened. After the particles havebeen separated from each other, the particulate material gradually fallsinto the supply shutter 19.

(5) The supply shutter 19 is connected to the weighing scale 20. Whenthe weight of the particulate material becomes a predetermined value,the outlet of the supply shutter 19 is opened (not shown), and anaccurately weighed. amount of particulate material is supplied to amachine in the next process step.

(6) The controller 21 of the particulate material supplying apparatus 1controls the overall operations of the apparatus 1, including thedispensing operation of the discharge gutter 14, the weighing operationof the weighing scale 20, and the feeding operation of the supplyshutter 19. Various settings, instructions, and display items are inputto and output from the controller 21 through the operation panel 22.

The single-row particulate material supplying apparatus 4 loosens theparticles of the particulate material to a smaller degree, because thefeeder 18 illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 is omitted. Therefore, thesingle-row particulate material supplying apparatus 4 may be used for aparticulate material whose particles are less sticky and can be easilyseparated from each other by only the swinging motion of the dischargegutter 14. Because the feeder la illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 isomitted, the single-row particulate material supplying apparatus 4 canbe reduced in size and cost.

Next, as illustrated in FIGS. 16 and 17, the multi-row particulatematerial supplying apparatus 5 does not include the feeders 38, whichare included in the multi-row particulate material supplying apparatus 3illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. Other components of the apparatus 5 arethe same as those of the apparatus 3 illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4. Themulti-row particulate material supplying apparatus 5 includes a hopper30, an inclination adjustment base 31, discharge members 33, anddischarge gutters 34. The hopper 30 stores a particulate materialcomposed of irregularly shaped particles. The inclination adjustmentbase 31 supports the hopper 30 in such a way that the inclination of thehopper 30 is adjustable. The discharge members 33, which are disposed inlower regions inside the hopper 30, first dispense the particulatematerial in the hopper 30. The discharge gutters 34 move together withthe discharge members 33 and transport the particulate material whiledispensing the particulate material in the hopper 30.

The discharge gutters 34 include inclined gutter portions each having asubstantially U-shaped cross section and having an opening in an uppersurface thereof. Base portions of the discharge gutters 34 are connectedto the discharge members 33 through connection members 32. Gutter-sidetransmission gears 35 are fitted onto the discharge gutters 34.Motor-side transmission gears 36 are attached to driving motors 37 thatrotate the discharge gutters 34. The transmission gears 35 and 36 meshwith each other.

Supply shutters 39 are disposed directly below outlets of the inclinedputter portions of the discharge gutters 34. The supply shutters 39 areconnected to weighing scales 40 so that the weighing scales 40 can weighthe particulate material which has fallen into the supply shutters 39.

A collective shutter 44 is disposed directly below the outlets of thesupply shutters 39. The collective shutter 44 receives she particulatematerial from each of the supply shutters 39 and collectively feeds theparticulate material to the next process step at a predetermined timing.

The members described above are mounted on a base 43. A controller 41and an operation panel 42 are disposed under the base 43. The controller41 performs various control operations of the particulate materialsupplying apparatus 5. The operation panel 42 is used to perform variousinput/output operations on the controller 41.

An operation of the multi-row particulate material supplying apparatus5, which is illustrated in FIGS. 16 and 17, will be described. Exceptfor the motion of the feeders 38, the members of the multi-rowparticulate material. supplying apparatus 5 according to the embodimentof the present invention move in the same way those of the apparatus 3illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4.

(1) A particulate material composed of irregularly shaped particles isstored in the hopper 30. The particulate material in the hopper 30 iscompressed in a lower region inside the hopper 30 due to gravity.

(2) The motion of the discharge gutters 34 will be described. Thegutter-side transmission gears 35 are fitted onto the discharge gutters34. The motor-side transmission gears 36 mesh with the gutter-sidetransmission gears 35, so that the rotational forces of the drivingmotors 37 are transmitted to the discharge gutters 34. When the drivingmotors 37 rotate leftward in FIG. 16, the discharge gutters 34 rotaterightward (hereinafter referred to as “forward”). When the drivingmotors 37 rotate rightward, the discharge gutters 34 rotate leftward(hereinafter referred to as “backward”). Under the control of thecontroller 41, the driving motors 37 rotate leftward to a predeterminedangle, then rotate rightward to a predetermined angle, and repeat theforward and backward rotations. Likewise, the discharge gutters 34,which are connected to the driving motors 37 through gears, rotateforward to a predetermined angle, then rotate backward to apredetermined angle, and repeat the forward and backward rotations.Thus, the discharge gutters 34 each perform a swinging motion. As aresult, when the discharge gutters 34 swing by switching the rotationdirection, a horizontal stirring force at an angle of 90 degrees withrespect to the transport direction is applied to the material, andtherefore the particles of a particulate material that tend to clustertogether or become entangled are separated from each other andsufficiently loosened.

(3) Because the inclined gutter portions of the discharge gutters 34each have an opening in the upper surface and has a substantiallyU-shaped cross section, the rightward (forward) and leftward (backward)rotation angles of the discharge gutters 34 are set in a range such thatthe particulate material does not fall out from the openings. Inaddition to the rotation angles of the discharge gutters 34, therotational speeds of the discharge gutters 34 in the forward andbackward directions and the inclination angles of the discharge gutters34, which are adjusted using the inclination adjustment base 31, arefactors that determine the loosening effect to the swinging motion. Thatis, the larger the rotation angles of the discharge gutters 34 andhigher the rotational speeds of the discharge gutters 34, the more theparticles of the particulate material are loosened. The smaller theinclination angles of the discharge gutters 34, the more the particlesof the particulate material are loosened, because the number of swingsincreases although the transportation amount of the particulate materialdecreases.

(4) As the discharge gutters 34 move, the discharge members 33, whichare connected to the discharge gutters 34 through the connection members32, each perform a swinging motion in the hopper 30. Thus, theparticulate material in the hopper 30 is dispensed to the dischargegutters 34. As the discharge gutters 34 each perform a swinging motionas described above in (2) and (3), the particles of the particulatematerial dispensed to the discharge gutters 34 are sufficientlyloosened. After the particles have been separated from each other, theparticulate material gradually falls into the supply shutters 39 due toa vibration effect.

(5) The supply shutters 39 are connected to the weighing scales 40. Theweighing scales 40 continue weighing the particulate material until theweights of the particulate material reach predetermined referencevalues. After the weights of the particulate material have reached thereference values, at release timings determined for the supply shutters39, the outlets of the supply shutters 39 are opened and the weighedparticulate material is supplied. to the collective shutter 44.

(6) At a predetermined feed timing after the total. weight of theparticulate material supplied to the collective shutter 44 from thesupply shutters 39 has reached a predetermined weight to be fed into apackaging bag, the collective shutter 44 collectively feeds theparticulate material that has been accurately weighed to a machine inthe next process step.

(7) The controller 41 of the particulate material. supplying apparatus 5controls the overall operations of the apparatus 5, including thedispensing operations of the discharge gutters 34, the weighingoperations of the weighing scales 40, the feeding operations of thesupply shutters 39, and the collective feeding operation of thecollective shutter 44. Various settings, instructions, and display itemsare input to and output from the controller 41 through the operationpanel 42.

(9) The multi-row particulate material supplying apparatus 5 illustratedin FIGS. 16 and 17 feeds the particulate material in the amount that isthe sum of the particulate material discharged from the plural dischargegutters 34, so that the time required for the amount of the particulatematerial to reach a predetermined amount needed in the next process stepis considerably reduced.

That is, the multi-row particulate material supplying apparatus 5 cansupply the particulate material in the amount needed in the next processstep within a time that is a fraction of that of the single-rowparticulate material. supplying apparatus 4. Therefore, the multi-rowparticulate material supplying apparatus 5 can be connected to alatest-type automatic packaging machine that operates at a high speed.

The multi-row particulate material supplying apparatus 5 loosens theparticles of the particulate material to a smaller degree, because thefeeders 38 illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 are omitted. Therefore, themulti-row particulate material supplying apparatus 5 may be used for aparticulate material whose particles are less sticky and can be easilyseparate from each other by only the swinging motion of the dischargegutters 34. Because the feeders 38 illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 areomitted, the multi-row particulate material supplying apparatus 5 can bereduced in size and cost.

A portion of the feeder 18 or 38 illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 4 thatreceives the particulate material fallen from the discharge gutter 14 or34 will be referred to as a “trough”. The trough has a gutter-like shapehaving a substantially V-shaped cross section. A bottom portion of thetrough, which extends linearly, has a function of loosening theparticles of the particulate material fallen from the discharge gutter14 or 34 while transporting the particulate material at a constantspeed.

In addition, the trough has a function of arranging the particles of theloosened particulate material on the bottom portion of the trough sothat the particles of the particulate material that have been separatedfrom each other can regularly fall onto a device in the next step (thesupply shutter 19 or 39 in FIGS. 1 to 4) from the outlet of the trough.If there were gaps between the particles of the particulate materialarranged on the bottom portion of the trough and the particles fall fromthe outlet of the trough, the following problems would occur. That is,when weighing the particulate material using a device in the next step(the supply shutter 19 or 39 in FIGS. 1 to 4), an idle time occurs dueto the presence of the gaps and the time required for weighing varies.As a result, an error in the measured weight may occur or the weighingspeed of the particulate material supplying apparatus may decrease.

In the particulate material supplying apparatus 1 or 3, the length ofthe inclined gutter portion of the discharge gutter 14 or 34 or thelength of the trough of the feeder 18 or 38 is made sufficiently large,so that the particles of the particulate material, which have beenseparated from each other, can be arranged without gaps therebetween andthe particles can smoothly and continuously fall into the supply shutter19 or 39 that is used to weigh the particulate material.

However, such an increase in the length of the gutter portion of thedischarge gutter 14 or 34 or the length of the trough of the feeder 18or 38 may cause a problem of an increase in the size or cost of theparticulate material supplying apparatus.

In order to prevent this, in the particulate material supplyingapparatus according to the present invention, the length of the troughof the feeder 18 or 38 is not increased. Instead, a stepped portion isformed on the bottom portion of the trough so that gaps between theparticles of the particulate material that have been separated from eachother can be substantially eliminated and the particles can be arrangedwithout gaps therebetween.

FIG. 18 is a perspective view of the feeder 18 or 38 of a particulatematerial supplying apparatus according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIGS. 19A to 19C illustrate an operation of the feeder 18 or 38 of aparticulate material supplying apparatus. First, the structure of thefeeder 13 or 38 of the particulate material supplying apparatus will bedescribed. Referring to FIG. 18, the feeder 18 or 38 of the particulatematerial supplying apparatus includes a trough 80, a trough outlet 81, afirst bottom portion 90, a stepped portion 91, and a second bottomportion 92. The trough 80 receives the particulate material fallen froma discharge putter. After the particles of the particulate material havebeen loosened. and arranged, the particulate material is fed to a devicein the next step (the supply shutter 19 or 39 in FIGS. 1 to 4) throughthe trough outlet 81. The first bottom portion 90 first receives theparticulate material from the discharge gutter. The stepped portion 91is formed in a transport. path of the particulate material along thetrough. After the particles of the particulate material have beenloosened and arranged, that particles are located on the second bottomportion 92.

The feeder 18 or 38 further includes a base 82, coil springs 33, anelectromagnet 86, and plate springs 84 and 85. The base 82 is a base ofa vibrator that vibrates the body of the trough in such a way that theparticulate material. received by the trough is moved in the transportdirection. The coil springs 83 absorb vibration of the vibrator so thatthe body of the particulate material supplying apparatus might not beaffected by the vibration. The electromagnet 86 repeats an operation ofattracting and releasing the body of the trough so as to move the troughin such a way that the particulate material is moved in the transportdirection. The plate springs 84 and 85 connect the trough 30 and thebase 82 of the vibrator to each other and, by being warped as theelectromagnet 86 repeats the operation of attracting and releasing thebody of the trough, contributes to generation of vibration fortransporting the particulate material.

As described above, the feeder 18 or 38 includes the trough 80 and thevibrator. The trough 80 receives the particulate material dispensed froma discharge gutter and transports the particulate material. The vibratorprovides a means of transporting the particulate material by vibratingthe trough 80. The vibrator includes the base 82, the coil springs 83for absorbing vibration, the plate springs 84 and 85 for contributing tothe vibration for transportation, and the electromagnet 86. The trough30 includes at least one stepped portion 91 that accelerates theparticulate material that is being transported along the trough in orderto substantially eliminate gaps between the particles of the particulatematerial, which were generated when the particles were loosened.

Next, the operation of the feeder 18 or 38 will be described.

(1) FIG. 19A illustrates particles 52 and 53 of a particulate material,which have entered the trough 80 from the left end of the trough 80 andare being transported along the upper surface of the first bottomportion 90, seen the left side. As illustrated in FIG. 19A, the vibratorvibrates the trough 80 with a predetermined amplitude. Due to thevibration and the downward inclination of the feeder 18 or 38 in thetransport direction, the particles 52 and 53 are moved toward the outlet81 at a transportation speed that depends on the amplitude of thevibration. Then, the particles 52 and 53 fall from the outlet 51 at theright end of the trough 80 to a device in the next step (the supplyshutter 19 or 39 in FIGS. 1 to 4). While the particles 52 and 53 arebeing transported along the first bottom portion 90 as illustrated inFIG. 19A, there is a gap H between the particles 52 and 53.

(2) FIG. 19B is a cross-sectional view of the trough 80 taken along lineX-X of FIG. 19A, illustrating the positional relationship among thetrough 80, the first bottom portion 90, the stepped portion 91, thesecond bottom portion 92, and the particle 53. Referring to FIG. 19B,the particle 52 (not shown) and the particle 53 are moving along thefirst bottom portion 90 and about to pass the stepped portion 91.

(3) FIG. 190 illustrates the particles 52 and 53 on the trough 80 at atime when only the particle 53 has passed the stepped portion 91, seenfrom the left side. As illustrated in FIG. 19C, the particle 52 is stilllocated on the first bottom portion 90, and only the particle 53 haspassed the stepped portion 91 and moved to the second bottom portion 92.When the particle 53 passed the stepped portion 91, the particle 53 wasaccelerated in accordance with the inclination angle of the steppedportion 91. As a result, the particle 53 is located at the tail end ofthe row of particles that are being transported along the second bottomportion 92. In this state, there still remains a gap H′ between theparticles 52 and 53.

(4) FIG. 19D illustrates the particles 52 and 53 on the trough 80 at atime when both the particles 52 and 53 have passed the stepped portion91, seen from the left side. As illustrated in FIG. 19D, the particle 52has passed the stepped portion 91 and is moving along the second bottomportion 92. When the particle 52 passed the stepped portion 91, theparticle 52 was accelerated in accordance with the inclination angle ofthe stepped portion 91. As a result, the particle 52 is in contact withthe particle 53 transported along the second bottom portion 92.

In this state, the gap between the particles 52 and 53 has beensubstantially eliminated, and all the particles of the particulatematerial on the second bottom portion 92 are regularly arranged withoutgaps therebetween.

As described above, in the particulate material supplying apparatusaccording to the present invention, the length of the trough of thefeeder 18 or 38 is not increased. Instead, a stepped portion is formedon the bottom portion of the trough so that gaps between the particlesof the particulate material that have been separated can besubstantially eliminated and the particles can be arranged without gapstherebetween.

What is claimed is:
 1. A particulate material supplying apparatuscomprising: a hopper that stores a particulate material; a dischargegutter that extends diagonally downward from a lower region inside thehopper and dispenses the particulate material in the hopper; a feederthat transports the dispensed particulate material to a weighing scale;the weighing scale that receives and weighs the transported particulatematerial; a supply shutter that receives the weighed particulatematerial and feeds the particulate material to a machine in the nextprocess step at a predetermined timing; and a controller that controls adispensing operation of the discharge gutter, a transporting operationof the feeder, a weighing operation of the weighing scale, and a feedingoperation of the supply shutter, wherein the discharge gutter includesan inclined gutter portion having an opening in an upper surface thereofand having a substantially U-shaped cross section, and wherein thecontroller controls the discharge gutter so that the particulatematerial in the hopper is dispensed to the feeder by causing thedischarge gutter to perform a swinging motion in which a forwardrotation and a backward rotation each to a predetermined angle arerepeated while the opening in the inclined gutter portion faces upward.2. The particulate material supplying apparatus according to claim 1,further comprising: a discharge member that is disposed in the hopperand connected to the discharge gutter and that first dispenses theparticulate material, wherein the discharge member is provided with astirring bar that stirs the particulate material in the hopper as thedischarge gutter performs the swinging motion.
 3. The particulatematerial supplying apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: amaterial regulation bar that extends into the inclined gutter portion ofthe discharge gutter through the opening, the material regulation barbeing supported by a base of the particulate material supplyingapparatus in such a way that a vertical position thereof is adjustable,wherein the material regulation bar levels off the particulate materialin the discharge gutter and stirs the particulate material.
 4. Theparticulate material supplying apparatus according to claim 1, whereinthe feeder includes a trough that receives the dispensed particulatematerial from the discharge gutter and transports the particulatematerial and a vibrator that vibrates the trough to provide means fortransporting the particulate material, and wherein the trough includesat least one stepped portion that accelerates the particulate materialthat is being transported along the trough.
 5. A particulate materialsupplying apparatus comprising: a hopper that stores a particulatematerial; a plurality of discharge gutters that extend diagonallydownward from a lower region inside the hopper and dispense theparticulate material in the hopper; a plurality of feeders thattransport the dispensed particulate material to a plurality of weighingscales; the plurality of weighing scales that receive and weigh thetransported particulate material; a plurality of supply shutters thatreceive the weighed particulate material and feed the particulatematerial to a collective shutter; a collective shutter that receives theparticulate material fed from the supply shutters and collectively feedsthe particulate material to a machine in the next process step at apredetermined timing; and a controller that controls dispensingoperations of the discharge gutters, transporting operations of thefeeders, weighing operations of the weighing scales, feeding operationsof the supply shutters, and a collective feeding operation of thecollective shutter, wherein the discharge gutters each include aninclined gutter portion having an opening in en upper surface thereofand having a substantially U-shaped cross section, wherein thecontroller controls the discharge gutters so that the particulatematerial in the hopper is dispensed to the feeders by causing each ofthe discharge gutters to perform a swinging motion in which a forwardrotation and a backward rotation each to a predetermined angle arerepeated while the openings in the inclined gutter portions face upward,wherein the controller controls the weighing scales so that the weighingscales receive the particulate material transported by the feeders andperform the weighing operations until a weight of the transportedparticulate material reaches a reference value determined for each ofthe weighing scales, wherein the controller controls the supply shuttersso that the supply shutters feed the particulate material to thecollective shutter at release timings determined for the supplyshutters, and wherein the controller controls the collective shutter sothat the collective shutter collectively feeds the particulate materialto the machine in the next process step at a predetermined feed timingafter a total weight of the particulate material fed from the supplyshutters has reached a predetermined weight of material to be packedinto a package bag.
 6. The particulate material supplying apparatusaccording to claim 5, further comprising: a plurality of dischargemembers that are disposed in the hopper and each connected to acorresponding one of the discharge gutters and that first dispense theparticulate material, wherein each of the discharge members is providedwith a stirring bar that stirs the particulate material in the hopper asthe corresponding one of the discharge gutters performs the swingingmotion.
 7. The particulate material supplying apparatus according toclaim 5, further comprising: a plurality of material regulation barsthat each extend into the inclined gutter portion of a corresponding oneof the discharge gutters through the opening, the material regulationbars being supported by a base of the particulate material supplyingapparatus in such a way that vertical positions thereof are adjustable,wherein the material regulation bars level off the particulate materialin the discharge gutters and stir the particulate material.
 8. Theparticulate material supplying apparatus according to claim 5, whereineach of the feeders includes a trough that receives the dispensedparticulate material from a corresponding one of the discharge guttersand transports the particulate material and a vibrator that vibrates thetrough to provide means for transporting the particulate material, andwherein the trough includes at least one stepped portion thataccelerates the particulate material that is being transported along thetrough.
 9. A particulate material supplying apparatus comprising: ahopper that stores a particulate material; a discharge gutter thatextends diagonally downward from a lower region inside the hopper anddispenses the particulate material in the hopper; a weighing scale thatreceives and weighs the dispensed particulate material; a supply shutterthat receives the weighed particulate material and feeds the particulatematerial to a machine in the next process step at a predeterminedtiming; and a controller that controls a dispensing operation of thedischarge gutter, a weighing operation of the weighing scale, and afeeding operation of the supply shutter, wherein the discharge gutterincludes an inclined gutter portion having an opening in an uppersurface thereof and having a substantially U-shaped cross section, andwherein the controller controls the discharge gutter so that theparticulate material in the hopper is dispensed to the weighing scale bycausing the discharge gutter to perform a swinging motion in which aforward rotation and a backward rotation each to a predetermined angleare repeated while the opening in the inclined gutter portion fadesupward.